Prof. Kulesza: consent for violence is growing, we are becoming worse towards each other

Changing social norms mean that we feel a growing acceptance of aggression and violence. Certain groups feel the effects of this from time to time - currently, it is healthcare workers. We are becoming worse and worse towards each other - Prof. Wojciech Kulesza from SWPS University told PAP.

The funeral of an orthopedic doctor who was fatally stabbed at the end of April while working at the University Hospital in Krakow will take place on Wednesday. In recent days, attacks on healthcare workers have also occurred in other facilities, including the Railway Hospital in Pruszków, the emergency department in Łuków (Lubelskie) and the 5th Military Clinical Hospital in Krakow.

"Nothing specific enough happens in hospitals to trigger more aggressive behaviour in people than elsewhere. In many places, we are dealing with stress or helplessness. The problem is not specific places, but the growing social acceptance of aggressive behaviour and violence in society. As a result, certain groups experience the effects of this from time to time, quite randomly. Now, these are healthcare workers, but in the past we had a wave of attacks on teachers, for example," social psychologist Prof. Wojciech Kulesza told PAP.

As he emphasized, aggression towards others is not a matter of, for example, growing frustration, because there is no research confirming that people are more frustrated now than before. In his opinion, it is the effect of changing social norms. "We are worse and worse to each other," he stated.

As he noted, the so-called social capital in Poland, although always low, is currently "scraping the bottom". Around 20% of Poles believe that people are naturally good, compared to 70% of Finns. "We do not have worse behavior in our blood than Finns; it is simply because of group norms that we start to treat each other differently, e.g. we allow hate, we do it. In this way, by hurting others, we cause the belief that we are surrounded by bad people," he emphasized.

Social norms, as he explained, arise as a result of several mechanisms. One of them is habituation, or getting used to a stimulus. "This consists in the fact that, for example, I read increasingly aggressive texts on the Internet, which is why I become indifferent to them over time. I also habituate my own behaviors: when driving a car, I first shout at another driver, then I threaten him with my fist, then I get out to beat him up," the psychologist described.

"In social psychology we also talk about desensitization, when we become numb to our own behavior and the behavior of others. So the problem is often ourselves, because we do not set boundaries for ourselves. More and more often we feel that we are allowed to do more. If there is no punishment for something, something is not forbidden, then it is allowed," noted Prof. Kulesza.

Research on the X platform has shown that negative posts are much more likely to be shared. "So not only do we read more and more negative content, remembering that the world is bad, but we also often hide anonymously behind social media, behind internet forums. In this way, we can accelerate into various bad behaviors. And this is an extremely dangerous beginning: research shows that first, in the vast majority, negative words appear, and only then negative behaviors," the PAP interviewee described.

This corresponds - as he described - to the well-known technique of social influence "foot in the door", according to which a small act first takes place, making way for a more significant one. That is why a person who insults someone finds it easier to push and then hit the other person.

As the psychologist emphasized, we also tend to justify our behavior and manipulate semantics: "when justifying our actions, we do not say that I am aggressive, but that I was provoked; or that I raise my children with an iron fist."

He also drew attention to the significance of the so-called Werther effect, although this effect concerned copycat suicides; now it is discussed more broadly in the context of duplicating criminal behavior described in the media. "Currently, we may have a spin-off of this phenomenon. People read about the attacks on paramedics, so they are more bold in such behavior against this group," added Prof. Kulesza.

The psychologist noted that the April incident involving MEP Grzegorz Braun at the hospital in Oleśnica, who broke into the facility and tried to prevent a gynecologist from working, was not without significance in the context of attacks on medics. "If a well-known person does something, they start to set a certain direction. Here we have an extended Werther effect through the influence of authority. Authority is a very broad concept, but of course it concerns someone respected in certain circles," said Prof. Kulesza.

Ewelina Krajczyńska-Wujec (PAP)

ekr/ bar/ ktl/